Off to a strong start this year, the mediation team swept the team performance categories at their first tournament in the fall, the Brenau Regional Mock Mediation Tournament in Gainesville, Georgia. Principia took first place in both Team Mediation and Team Advocacy, and Connor Fiddler, named Top Mediator, won the Individual Mediation category.

Next, the team competed at Maharishi University of Management’s Peacemaker Regional Tournament, held in Fairfield, Iowa, where Barrett Pierce won the Top Mediator award. Other honors included a first and second place in Team Mediation (for two different three-person teams) and third place in the Advocate/Client category. “This tournament marked the first time all Principia competitors made the final round, leading to these excellent results,” notes Dr. Jeffrey Steele, a multidisciplinary professor at the College and the team’s head coach.

Most recently, the team took first place in Team Advocacy at the 2017 International Intercollegiate Mediation Championship Tournament at Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia, in early November. This win earned them an invitation to the 2018 International Law School Mediation Championship Tournament in Chicago in March. This is the fourth year in a row that Principia has placed first or second in the Intercollegiate Championship, and it will be the team’s fourth consecutive appearance at the Law School Championships.

At the Intercollegiate Championship, Principians also earned a third-place finish in Team Mediation, and all the team members—senior Connor Fiddler, juniors Lorraine Marsh and Namrata Roy, sophomore Brittany Duke, and freshmen Barrett Pierce and Mackenzie Batten—earned medals and plaques for their individual contributions. Best of all, Principia won a special award this year.

“Perhaps the most important laurel the team earned was the H.C. Ellis Spirit of Mediation Award, given annually to the school that serves as the best example of the spirit and principles of mediation practice,” says Dr. Steele. Connor adds, “While it is nice to win the big trophies and bring home our awards, the Ellis achievement is our proudest because it means that we are becoming what the competition is looking to create—peacemakers and harmonizers. I know it will hold a special place on our awards shelf.”

The Ellis award is particularly meaningful since Principia competes against much larger schools such as Boston University, University of Texas, University of San Diego, and Brenau University. “Our students may not have the benefit of a pre-law program or support from a law school right here on campus,” Steele comments. “But they demonstrate the ability to understand complex negotiation and origins of disputes, and they are perfectly able to compete with and triumph over the challenges that would seem to put a small college like Principia at a disadvantage."

Evidently, those “David vs. Goliath” odds aren’t fazing new recruits. Over 20 students tried out for the mediation team this year, the most ever. The increased interest stems, in part, from the value the experience offers as students look ahead to post-graduation plans. Several recent graduates who competed on the mediation team are now in law school or graduate school at notable institutions, including Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Elon University School of Law, the University of San Diego, and the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.